Tears spilled before I could stop them. “What do you need from me?”

Principal Morris replied, “We want to speak with Sophie today, with you present, somewhere safe. Law enforcement has already been contacted.”

My hands clenched. “Where is she right now?”

“In class,” Ms. Reyes said. “We’ll bring her here. But please—don’t interrogate her. Let her speak in her own time. Safety comes first.”

When Sophie entered the office, she looked so small in her uniform, her hair still slightly damp from her morning shower. She saw me and immediately looked down, as if she already understood.

I took her hand. “Sweetheart,” I whispered, “you’re not in trouble. I just need you to tell me the truth.”

Her lip trembled. She nodded once.

Then she whispered the sentence that silenced the room:

“He said if I didn’t wash, you would smell it on me.”

My heart shattered and hardened all at once.

“Sophie,” I said gently, “who said that?”

She squeezed my fingers painfully tight. “Mr. Keaton,” she whispered. “The man by the side door.”

Ms. Reyes kept her voice calm. “What did he mean by ‘smell it’?”